Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A SYSTEM FOR CALIBRATING REFRACTED VIBRATIONS IN THE CONTEXT
OF SIMULATION
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of simulation. More
specifically, the present disclosure relates to a system for calibrating
refracted
vibrations in the context of simulation.
BACKGROUND
[0002] To render a simulation more realistic, vibrations generated
during
operating conditions are recreated by a simulation environment as simulated
vibrations. The simulated vibrations reproduce vibrations occurring during the
operating conditions, such as for example the impact of rain or air on the
cockpit of
an aircraft.
[0003] A simulated vibration is typically generated by a transducer
converting an electrical signal into the corresponding simulated vibration
transmitted
in the simulator. A library of model electrical signals is used for
controlling the
transducer, each model electrical signal allowing the reproduction by the
transducer
of a simulated vibration corresponding to a unique phenomenon (e.g. impact of
rain,
impact of air, etc.).
[0004] Several transducers are generally used simultaneously, to
transmit
a plurality of simulated vibrations at different locations of the simulator.
[0005] However, current library of model electrical signals do not take
into
account the presence of the plurality of transducers and the inherent
vibration of
components of the simulator during simulation.
[0006] There is therefore a need for a new system for calibrating
vibrations
generated in a simulation environment.
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SUMMARY
[0007] According
to a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a system
for calibrating refracted vibrations in a simulation environment. The system
comprises a synthesizer for generating an electrical signal and a transducer
for
converting the electrical signal into vibrations propagated through a physical
component of the simulation environment and refracted in a physical space of
the
simulation environment. The system further comprises a vibration sensor
positioned
in the physical space of the simulation environment for measuring refracted
vibrations therein. The system also comprises a configurator for calibrating
the
electrical signal generated by the synthesizer based on a vibration target of
a
simulated event and measured refracted vibrations by the vibration sensor.
[0008] According
to another aspect, the present disclosure provides a
simulation environment which calibrates refracted vibrations in a physical
space
thereof. The simulation environment comprises a plurality of physical
components
defining the physical space. The simulation environment further comprises a
plurality of synthesizers, each synthesizer generating a corresponding
electrical
signal. The simulation environment further comprises a plurality of
transducers,
where each transducer is in physical contact with one of the physical
component and
converts one of the electrical signals into corresponding vibrations
propagated
through the physical component and refracted in the physical space of the
simulation
environment. The simulation environment also comprises a vibration sensor for
measuring vibrations refracted in the physical space of the simulation
environment.
The simulation environment also comprises a configurator for calibrating a
plurality
of the electrical signals generated by the synthesizers to generate calibrated
electrical signals based on a vibration target of a simulated event and the
measured
refracted vibrations by the vibration sensor.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Embodiments of the disclosure will be described by way of example
only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0010] Figure 1 illustrates a system for calibrating vibrations in a
simulation
environment;
[0011] Figure 2 represents a top sectional view of an exemplary physical
space of a simulation environment;
[0012] Figure 3 illustrates an example of physical component;
[0013] Figure 4A illustrates vibrations propagated through a physical
component;
[0014] Figures 4B and 4C illustrate vibrations refracted in the
simulation
environment;
[0015] Figure 5 is schematic representation of components of the
configurator and synthesizer of Figure 1;
[0016] Figure 6 illustrates exemplary frequency responses of a physical
component; and
[0017] Figure 7 illustrates an algorithm implemented by a configurator.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0018] The foregoing and other features will become more apparent upon
reading of the following non-restrictive description of illustrative
embodiments
thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Like numerals represent like features on the various drawings.
[0019] Various aspects of the present disclosure generally address one
or
more of the problems related to the generation of vibrations used in a
simulation
environment.
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[0020] Throughout the present description, the following expressions are
used with relation to the corresponding description:
[0021] Transducer: a device which converts an electrical signal into
vibrations;
[0022] Simulation environment: space in which a simulation is performed,
for example a room, a simulator, etc., with physical or virtual boundaries;
[0023] Simulated event: an occurrence during a simulation for which
production of vibrations refracted in a physical space of the simulation
environment
and perceived by a user of the simulation environment in the physical space
are
required to improve realism of the simulation to the user; and
[0024] Physical component: a physical structure either fixed or movable,
which can be made of various types of materials, and is adapted for
propagating
vibrations.
DYNAMIC CALIBRATION OF REFRACTED VIBRATIONS
[0025] Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, a system 100 for calibrating
refracted vibrations in a simulation environment 150 is represented and a
simplified
exemplary simulation environment 150 depicted. The system 100 dynamically
calibrates refracted vibrations for simulations environments 150 simulating
any type
of real-life vehicle, apparatus or environment by replicating physical
sensations
perceived by a user of the real-life vehicle, apparatus or environment by
means of
software and various types of hardware. Examples of simulation environments
include: a vehicle simulator, a healthcare simulator, a military simulator, an
aircraft
simulator, a mining simulator, etc.
[0026] Components of the simulation environment 150 not related to the
present system 100 are not represented in Figure 2 for simplification
purposes.
Position of a user in a physical space 155 of the simulation environment 150
is
indicated with reference 170. The position 170 of the user in the physical
space 155
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of the simulation environment 150 is not necessarily centralized with respect
to the
physical space 155 of the simulation environment 150, as illustrated in Figure
2.
[0027] The
system 100 for calibrating refracted vibrations comprises at
least one synthesizer 110, at least one transducer 120, a vibration sensor 160
and
a configurator 130. The at least one transducer 120 is positioned on or
against a
physical component 140 of the simulation environment 150. The vibration sensor
160 is positioned in a physical space 155 of the simulation environment 150.
Figure
2 represents a top sectional view of an exemplary simplified simulation
environment
150.
[0028] For
illustrations purposes only, Figure 1 represents the system 100
with three synthesizers 110 for operating three channels. However, the number
of
synthesizers 110 (and corresponding channels / transducers 120) may vary from
one to many. For
simplicity purposes, the following description will describe a
system which comprises multiple channels, but the present system may include
as
few as one synthesizer 110 and one transducer 120.
[0029] Figures 1
and 2 depict three transducers 120 in contact with two
physical components 140. However, such a combination of transducers 120 and
physical component 140 is for example only. In some implementations, only one
transducer 120 may be used for each independent physical component 140, while
in other implementations, many transducers 120 may be used concurrently with a
single physical component 140.
[0030] Each
channel comprises a synthesizer 110 which generates an
electrical signal, and a transducer 120 which converts the electrical signal
generated
by the synthesizer 110 into vibrations. The vibrations are propagated through
the
physical component 140 by the transducer 120 and refracted in the physical
space
155 of the simulated environment 150 by the physical component 140.
Transducers
capable of converting an electrical signal into vibrations are well known in
the art.
For example, the transducers 120 may be piezoelectric transducers.
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[0031] The electrical signal generated by the synthesizer 110 is
generally
an analog electrical signal. Each synthesizer 110 may include a Digital Signal
Processor (DSP) for generating or receiving a digital electrical signal, which
is
converted by a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) into the analog electrical
signal.
[0032] The number of transducers 120, and the position of each
transducer
120 on one or several physical components 140, varies based on the type of
simulation environment 150, shape and size of the physical space 155, types of
simulated events and various simulation needs. A larger number of transducers
120
usually allows for a more realistic simulation, while a lower number of
transducers
120 is generally more cost effective.
[0033] Vibrations propagated 180 through each physical component 140
can be characterized by the following parameters: frequency, amplitude, phase,
and
delay. Values for the parameters of the propagated vibrations 180 depend on
the
electrical signal received by the transducer 120, the frequency response of
the
transducer 120, and the propagation characteristics of the physical component
140
(e.g. permittivity, permeability and conductivity). While propagating through
the
physical component 140, the propagated vibrations 180 generate refracted
vibrations 185 in the physical space 155 of the simulation environment 150.
The
refracted vibrations 185 depend on the propagated vibrations 180 in the
physical
component 140, and the propagation characteristics of the physical component
140.
Thus, using the same synthesizer 110, generating the same electrical signal
received by the same transducer 120, with two different physical components
140
having different propagation characteristics, the propagated vibrations 180
and the
refracted vibrations 185 generated inside the physical space 155 of the
simulation
environment 100 will be different. The propagation characteristics of the
physical
component 140 thus affect both the propagated vibrations 180 and the refracted
vibrations 185.
[0034] Figure 3 illustrates an example of physical component 140: a
simulator cockpit window. More particularly, Figure 3 represents a front view
of the
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physical component 140, from outside the physical space 155 of the simulation
environment 150. The physical component 140 can be curved, as illustrated in
Figure 2 or flat. On Figure 3, the plurality of transducers 120 are positioned
on a
surface of the physical component 140 external to the physical space 155 of
the
simulation environment 150, but the transducers 120 could also be positioned
on a
surface of the physical component 140 internal to the physical space 155 of
the
simulation environment 150. Alternately, some of the transducers 120 could be
positioned on the surface of the physical component 140 external to the
physical
space 155 of the simulation environment 150, while other transducers could be
positioned on the internal surface of the physical component 140. The physical
component 140 shown on Figure 3 comprises two sections: a visible section 141
which is visible from the inside of physical space 155 of the simulation
environment
150, and a non-visible section 142 not visible from the physical space 155 of
the
simulation environment 150. The non-visible section 142 overlaps another
physical
component 140 of the simulation environment 150 made of a non-transparent
material, which hides the non-visible section 142 from the inside of the
physical
space 155 of the simulation environment 150. Alternately, instead of being
overlapped with another physical component 140, the non-visible section 142 of
the
physical component 140 could alternately be covered with a material that
renders
the non-visible section 142 opaque. On the example of Figure 3, the
transducers
120 are positioned on the non-visible section 142, so that the user positioned
inside
the physical space 155 of the simulation environment 150 and looking at the
physical
component 140 does not see the transducers 120.
[0035] The physical component 140 may have various shapes and
thickness; and may be made of various materials including: glass, Plexiglas TM
, wood,
metal, alloy, composite materials, etc.
[0036] The vibrations 180 generated by the transducers 120 are
propagated through the physical component 140, as represented in Figure 4A.
For
simplification purposes, a single transducer 120 is represented in Figure 4A.
The
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vibrations 180 propagate transversally through the physical component 140.
Figure
4A only represents a portion of the vibrations signals 180 propagating from
the left
side of the physical component 140 (where the transducer 120 is positioned)
towards
the right side of the physical component 140. At the extremities 143 of the
physical
component 140, an isolating material (not represented in Figure 4A) is used to
prevent propagation of the vibrations 180 to adjacent physical component(s).
The
isolating material may be further adapted to prevent a reflection of the
propagated
vibrations 180 within the physical component 140, thus preventing reflected
vibrations through the physical component 140.
[0037] Upon propagation along the physical component, the propagated
vibrations 180 are also refracted by the physical component 140 in the
physical
space 155 of the simulation environment 150. The propagated vibrations 180 and
the refracted vibrations 185 simulate vibrations that would be perceived by a
user of
the real-life vehicle, apparatus or environment represented by the simulation
environment 150. For example, in the case of a simulation environment 150
corresponding to an aircraft, the propagated vibrations 180 and the refracted
vibrations 185 correspond to at least one of the following types of simulated
events:
simulated air impact vibrations, simulated rain impact vibrations, simulated
hail
impact vibrations, simulated pressurization vibrations, etc.
[0038] The propagated vibrations 180 induce a deformation of the
physical
component 140. Usually, the deformation of the physical component 140 cannot
be
seen by a human, unless the propagated vibrations 180 are particularly strong.
[0039] Figure 4B represents a simplified vertical sectional view of the
simulation environment 150. The refracted vibrations 185 generated by the
deformation of the physical component 140 propagate inside the physical space
155
of the simulation environment 150, and reach the user of the simulation
environment
150 positioned at position 170. Although not shown on Figure 4B for simplicity
purposes, the simulation environment 150 may include other physical components
that generate vibrations, such as for example a pilot chair, a cockpit, a
stick, hydraulic
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or pneumatic legs, etc.
[0040] Figure 4C represents exemplary fronts for refracted vibrations
185
travelling in the physical space 155 of the simulation environment 150 of
Figure 2.
The refracted vibrations 185 generated by the deformation of the physical
components 140 travel within the physical space 155 of the simulation
environment
150, and reach the user of the simulation environment 150 located at position
170.
As can be seen from Figure 4C, the user may receive several fronts of
refracted
vibrations 185, from various physical components 140. Without proper
calibration,
the cumulative effect of those refracted vibrations 185 may be distracting or
worse
yet disruptive for the user, instead of contributing to perceived realism of
the
simulation.
[0041] The usual way to adjust the electrical signals generated by the
synthesizers 110 is to adjust the synthesizers 110 individually and manually,
without
using a configurator 130. The adjustments consist in adapting the generated
electrical signals to obtain acceptable perceived vibrations in the simulation
environment 150, rather than optimal perceived vibrations as a function of
simulated
events. In addition to being subject and costly, this method cannot ensure
improved
realism for each simulated event.
[0042] To overcome the drawbacks of prior art systems, the present
system
100 comprises the configurator 130 and the vibration sensor 160. For
simplicity
purposes, the following description and Figures depict a system 100 and
simulation
environment 150 which comprises only one vibration sensor 160. However, the
present system 100 and simulation environment 150 are not limited to such an
implementation, and several vibration sensors 160 could be used concurrently
with
one configurator 130, where each vibration sensor 160 is installed within the
physical
space 155 of the simulation environment 150 for measuring refracted vibrations
185
therein at different positions. When only one vibration sensor 160 is used,
the
vibration sensor 160 is typically positioned at the position 170 of the user.
When
more than one vibration sensors are used, the vibration sensors 160 may be
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positioned on each side of the position 170 of the user, or in any other
configuration
which allows detection of intersecting fronts of refracted vibrations 185.
[0043] Reference is now made to Figure 5, which depicts components of
the configurator 130 and the synthesizer 110. The configurator 130 comprises a
processing unit 131, having one or more processors (not represented in Figure
6 for
simplification purposes) capable of executing instructions of computer
program(s)
(e.g. a configuration algorithm). Each processor may further have one or
several
cores.
[0044] The configurator 130 also comprises memory 132 for storing
instructions of the computer program(s) executed by the processing unit 131,
data
generated by the execution of the computer program(s), data received via a
configuration interface 133 of the configurator 130, etc. The configurator 130
may
comprise several types of memories, including volatile memory, non-volatile
memory, etc.
[0045] The configurator 130 further comprises the configuration
interface
133. For instance, the configuration interface 133 comprises a communication
interface (e.g. a Wi-Fi interface, an Ethernet interface, a cellular
interface, a
combination thereof, etc.) for exchanging data with other entities (such as
the
synthesizer 110, a remote computing entity, etc.) over a communication
network.
The configuration interface 133 may also comprise a user interface (e.g. a
mouse, a
keyboard, a trackpad, a touchscreen, etc.) for allowing a user to interact
with the
configurator 130.
[0046] Optionally, the configurator 130 further comprises a display
(e.g. a
regular screen or a tactile screen) for displaying data generated by the
processing
unit 131.
[0047] The configurator 130 may be implemented by a standard desktop or
laptop computer, or by a dedicated computing device having adapted computing
capabilities and performances.
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[0048] The synthesizer 110 comprises a processing unit 111, having one
or more processors (not represented in Figure 8 for simplification purposes)
capable
of executing instructions of computer program(s) (e.g. a configuration
algorithm).
Each processor may further have one or several cores.
[0049] The synthesizer 110 also comprises memory 112 for storing
instructions of the computer program(s) executed by the processing unit 111,
data
generated by the execution of the computer program(s), data received via a
configuration interface 113 of the synthesizer 110, etc. The synthesizer 110
may
comprise several types of memories, including volatile memory, non-volatile
memory, etc.
[0050] The synthesizer 110 further comprises the configuration interface
113. For instance, the configuration interface 113 comprises a communication
interface (e.g. a Wi-Fi interface, an Ethernet interface, a cellular
interface, a
combination thereof, etc.) for exchanging data with other entities (such as
the
configurator 130, a remote computing entity, etc.) over a communication
network.
[0051] The synthesizer 110 also comprises specialized hardware and / or
specialized software 114 for performing the generation of the electrical
signals
generated by the synthesizer 110. For instance, as mentioned previously, the
specialized hardware 114 includes a DSP for generating digital electrical
signals,
and a DAC for transforming the digital electrical signals into analogical
electrical
signals transmitted to the corresponding transducer (not represented in Figure
8).
[0052] Examples of data received via the configuration interface 133 of
the
configurator 130, include: the vibrations target per simulated event, the
frequency
response of the physical component 140, etc.
[0053] Reference is now made concurrently to Figures 1-7, where Figure 6
is an exemplary graph of frequency responses of a physical component 140, and
Figure 7 is an exemplary method of calibration of refracted vibrations.
[0054] The processing unit 131 of the configurator 130 receives (step
310)
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from the simulation environment 150 an indicator of the simulation event being
simulated. The processing unit 131 of the configurator 130 extracts (step 315)
from
the memory 132 the vibration target for the received simulation event and
calculates
corresponding vibration parameters for each synthesizer 110. For example,
vibration
targets for each type of simulated event may be stored in the memory 132 of
the
configurator 130 and extracted for application by the synthesizers 110. The
vibration
target defines the following: frequency, amplitude, phase, and delay for the
refracted
vibrations 185, on a per simulated event basis.
[0055] As the distance between the user of the simulation environment
150
and the physical components 140 may vary, the configurator 130 assesses the
relative position of the user in the physical space 155 either by means of a
detector,
a camera, or by a position of a seat for receiving the user of the simulation
environment 150. The processing unit 131 of the configurator 130 thus adjusts
the
frequency, amplitude, phase and delay of the electric signal generated by each
synthesizer 110 involved in simulating the event, based on the relative
position of
the user in the physical space 155 of the simulation environment. For example,
when the user is positioned closer to one side of the physical space 155, the
configurator 130 adjusts the delay of the electric signal generated by the
synthesizers 110 involved in the simulation on different sides of the physical
space
155. The processing unit 131 of the configurator 130 further controls the
electric
signal generated by each synthesizer 110 as a function of the vibration
parameters
of the vibration target for the simulated event, so that a sum of the
refracted
vibrations perceived by a user at the position 170 corresponds to the
vibration target
for the simulated event. Considering the position of the physical components
140
refracting the vibrations in the physical space 155, and their cumulative
effect at the
position 170, greatly improves realism.
[0056] The processing unit 131 of the configurator 130 then receives
(step
320) from the vibration sensor(s) 160 the measured refracted vibrations 185 in
the
physical space 155. To optimize further the realism, the vibration sensor(s)
160 are
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positioned at position 170.
[0057] The processing unit 131 of the configurator 130 calculates (step
330) a difference between the measured refracted vibrations received from the
vibration sensors 160 and the vibration target for the simulated event.
Additional
parameters may be used to calculate the required calibration to be applied at
the
synthesizers 110, such as for example propagation characteristics of the
physical
components 140 on which the transducers 120 are physically in contact with,
frequency response of the transducers 120, relative position of the physical
components 140 with respect to the user, etc.
[0058] Then the processing unit 131 of the configurator 130 determines
(step 340) based on the calculated difference of step 330 the calibration
required at
the synthesizers 110. The calibration may impact any of the following
parameters
of the electrical signal generated by the synthesizer: frequency, amplitude,
phase
and delay. The processing unit 131 communicates to each synthesizer 110 the
calibration to be applied through the configuration interface 133. The
configuration
interface 133 of the configurator 130 communicates the calibration to be
applied to
a configuration interface 113 of each synthesizer.
[0059] The synthesizers 110 receive through the configuration interface
113 the calibration to be applied. The received calibration is transferred to
a
processing unit 111, which stores the received calibration. The specialized
hardware/software 114 of the synthesizer applies (step 350) the calibration,
and the
synthesizer thereafter generates a calibrated electrical signal which will be
converted
by the transducer 120 of the corresponding channel.
[0060] Based on the simulation event, the configurator 130 may configure
a single synthesizer 110, some of the synthesizers 110, or all the
synthesizers 110.
[0061] Fora given simulation event (e.g. simulation of air impact
vibrations,
simulation of rain impact vibrations, simulation of hail impact vibrations,
simulation
of pressurization vibration, etc.), only a subset of the available
synthesizers 110 may
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be used. The configurator 130 determines which synthesizers 110 are used for
generating vibrations for the simulated event. For each channel configured by
the
configurator 130, the configurator 130 configures the corresponding
synthesizer 110
to generate the calibrated electrical signals, thereby generating calibrated
refracted
vibrations 185.
[0062] The aforementioned parameters (vibrations target, frequency
response of the physical component 140, frequency response of the transducer
120,
relative position 170 of the user in the physical space 155 of the simulation
environment 150) may be used separately or concurrently for determining the
calibrated electrical signal generated by the synthesizer 110 for the
simulated event.
[0063] To ensure that the calibration is successful or to further
improve
precision of the calibration, the system 100 and simulation environment 150
may
perform the method shown on Figure 7 in a loop. Thus, until a new simulated
event
is received (step 310), the method continues to receive the measured refracted
vibrations 185 (step 320), calculate a difference between the vibration target
for the
simulated event and the measured refracted vibrations (step 330), determine
the
calibration required at the synthesizer(s) 110 to compensate for the
difference
calculated (in step 330), and apply the calibration (step 350).
[0064] The memory 132 of the configurator 130 may store the calibration
calculated for each synthesizer 110 involved, so that these values are used as
the
initial values when the corresponding simulated event is received (in step
310).
Alternatively, the calibration of each synthesizer 110 may be stored in the
memory
112 of the synthesizer 110.
[0065] Although the present disclosure has been described hereinabove by
way of non-restrictive, illustrative embodiments thereof, these embodiments
may be
modified at will within the scope of the appended claims without departing
from the
spirit and nature of the present disclosure.
